


Acceptable Interference

by Mystical_Magician



Category: Cardcaptor Sakura, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Crossover, Family, Gen, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-27
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2017-11-12 23:43:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/496990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystical_Magician/pseuds/Mystical_Magician
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His mother always said 'everything will definitely be all right', which wasn't to say that the journey would be smooth or easy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Beginning

Warning: There are spoilers for chapitres that haven’t been published in English yet. Also, so far as I can tell, the CCS participation that I have going here isn’t exactly canon, but I liked the idea. 

This is the first of three connected one-shots. It’s a bit of an experiment with a different style of writing, and I hope it turned out well. 

 

_And she says oh  
I can't take no more  
Her tears like diamonds on the floor  
And her diamonds bring me down  
Cause I can't help her now  
She's down in it  
She tried her best but now she can't win it  
Hard to see them on the ground  
Her diamonds falling down_

_She shuts out the night  
Tries to close her eyes  
If she can find daylight  
She'll be alright  
She'll be alright  
Just not tonight  
-Rob Thomas, “Her Diamonds”_

 

Kinomoto Sakura feels it immediately, the magic that explodes from nothing. It is as though someone snuck up behind her and screamed in her ear. She can’t help the startled yelp, anymore than she can help stumbling over thin air. It comes from Penguin Park, of course. The park always seems to attract the supernatural, or at least it has since her Cardcaptor days. 

Tomoyo will be disappointed to miss this, and Syaoran will be angry to know she is going to investigate on her own, but it can’t be helped. Sakura fully expects that Syaoran will appear soon anyway. There is no way he can miss that burst of power. 

It is nearly sunset, so the area is empty. “Release,” she says, and, “Jump.” She takes to the trees feeling safer about the upcoming confrontation if she is positioned above him, or her, or them. She hasn’t the faintest idea what is going on, and she is alone. She will take whatever advantage she can. 

Sakura leaps easily from tree to tree, not as skilled or stealthy as her boyfriend, but well enough. She moves unerringly in the direction she feels the magical presence (presences? She can’t tell, there is something strange or wrong, or both, something she is not yet experienced enough to analyze). 

.

There is a clearing in the woods where a strange group of four and a white creature are gathered. 

“Someone’s coming,” says the large, intimidating man with eyes the color of blood. 

“Someone powerful,” adds the other adult lightly. He appears perfectly harmless if one overlooks the tension coiled in his body and the smile that does not reach his eyes. 

The boy holds the unconscious princess close to his heart, and his expression is grim, his eyes determined as he scans the area for the approaching threat. 

It is upon this scene that Sakura emerges. Her gaze, as always, is drawn first and foremost to her most precious person. “Syaoran?” she says in surprise. She didn’t think he would arrive before her, and she hardly notices the others jerking in shock, or the way her name is spoken by a lithe, blond man she has never seen in her life. 

She leaps lightly from her high position in the tree to the ground, and is puzzled by the beginnings of a worried shout from Syaoran, and a “Hyuu, Sakura-chan is so cool,” from the blond man. And then she notices the girl that Syaoran carries looks very familiar, and the feeling of wrongness intensifies. 

“What’s going on?” she asks. Her star staff is still out, the tension in the air almost palpable. 

“S-Sakura…-san,” Syaoran stutters, looking desperately at his companions. 

She takes a step back, eyes narrowed, staff held in front of her defensively. His appearance might be the same, but the way he holds himself, the way he speaks, his attitude. It confirms that this boy before her is not her Syaoran. 

“You’re not Syaoran-kun,” she says lowly. “Who are you?” Those words, it seems, and the desire behind them become a trigger. 

_She dreams._

_In her arms she cradles a baby boy. So much like his father, she thinks._

_They love him and train him and prepare him as best they can, and they let him go too early (far, far too early, and sometimes Sakura hates hitsuzen, but they give him a choice and he goes)._

_In her arms she cradles a baby boy, and he is so much like her father and his other half._

_They love him and protect him, teach him everything he needs to know about living on his own, and they don’t let him go quite so early, but still it’s too early, they think._

_There is pain in the future for all of them. Agony, blood, betrayal, despair, hatred, sacrifice, and it’s too sad for words, the things her son(s) and his companions will go through._

Never before has Sakura dreamed while awake, and with so little effort. Dazed by the intensity of her visions, she doesn’t know how long she stares into the distance. She does notice the makeshift ‘family’s’ puzzled and concerned expressions, and can’t find the strength within her to reassure them because it takes everything she has to keep the tears in her eyes from falling. 

Something small and white with large ears surprises her by hopping onto her shoulder. “Hoe,” she murmurs weakly. 

“Is Sakura-chan all right?” it asks sadly, reaching out a small hand to pat her cheek gently. 

“Yes,” she says, conjuring up a faint smile. “I will be. Definitely.” 

“Yay,” the creature cheers, instantly happy. “I’m Mokona Modoki. Let’s be friends.” 

“Hello, Mokona,” she says, carefully shaking its hand with finger and thumb. “I’m Kinomoto Sakura.” 

“Saa, how rude of us not to introduce ourselves,” says the blond with a charming grin. “I am Fai, and this guy in black is – ”

“Kurogane,” the other man growls, glaring menacingly at the mage. 

“And you seem to recognize Syaoran,” Fai continues easily. 

Sakura glances up and really looks at the young man who will one day be her son. “Oh,” she breathes. He was and wasn’t the child she saw in her dream, and Sakura realizes that there is so much more to this than she had thought. There are not many people with the power to see the seal in his right eye, but she is one of them. Syaoran – _her_ Syaoran – would recognize what it was immediately. Sakura didn’t know its purpose for certain, but she could guess. She understands souls and hearts better than the tomes of magic she struggles to learn from, and she would know the feel of that magic anywhere. 

None of the group really knows what to say to this Sakura who isn’t the Sakura they know and love. And so, they wait for her to make her move, because there is something so knowing and so terribly heartbreaking in her emerald gaze. Sakura should never look so devastated, they think. It is painful to see her like that. 

For the moment, Sakura is concentrated completely on Syaoran. “I know you,” she whispers, tears clinging to her long lashes. The young archaeologist freezes when he feels her warm, smooth hand on his cheek. His face burns when she leans close and kisses his brow (above his right eye, both the ninja and the mage notice, but Kurogane doesn’t know the true significance while Fai knows all too well). 

“I love you both,” Sakura whispers in his ear. “If you forget all else, please remember that you are loved.” You will all three be my beloved sons, never mind I will give birth to only one of you. 

He looks so flustered and terribly confused as she steps away, but she doesn’t explain any further. 

“Are you all right, Syaoran-kun?” Fai asks softly as Kurogane looks away with a scowl. 

“Eh?” he questions. 

“You’re crying.” 

Syaoran carefully adjusts his hold on the princess and brings a hand to his face. “I…I don’t know why,” he whispers, his frown equal parts puzzled and sad. “And it is just my right eye that cries.” 

The group is disturbed by a shout, and they turn to see this world’s Syaoran sprinting toward them, his sword in hand. Kurogane can tell immediately that the kid knows how to use it. “Sakura!” He skids to a halt at her side and takes up a defensive stance. “What is going on?” he demands, his hard gaze darting from person to person. 

“Puu!” Mokona says cheerfully, as though completely ignorant of the tension. “Now there are two Syaoran-kuns and two Sakura-chans!” 

Li lowers his sword slightly and stares at the strange creature. “Another stuffed animal?” he asks warily. 

“Mokona is not a stuffed animal,” the white creature says. “Mokona is Mokona!” 

“At least he didn’t bite you, Syaoran,” Sakura murmurs softly, lacing her fingers through his in the hopes of calming him down and preventing him from doing something rash. 

Li’s expression gentles when he looks at Sakura, but the softness is lost when he returns his gaze to the strange group. He tries not to notice the girl who looks like Sakura because even if she isn’t the one he loves, it’s heart wrenching to see her so frail and helpless, and it doesn’t take one of his power to feel that there is something wrong with her. He sees the seal in his double and knows in an instant its purpose. He sees the curse upon the tall, black-haired man. 

_(But only Sakura sees the curses that wend and weave around the blond like a noose, and she knows bits and pieces that will result. She has seen the strands of hitsuzen that lead to this moment, and she has glimpsed where they will lead from here.)_

“You are very powerful,” Syaoran says gravely to Fai. 

Fai grins, and his mask does no waver. “So are you two,” he replies cheerfully. 

_(Clow Reed’s most important instruction, passed down and followed religiously by the Li clan, was to always shield their magic power, so that only a portion of their strength could be sensed. Syaoran had learned this as a child. Eriol had always known this. Sakura had been taught by Kero and Yue upon completing the Sakura Cards. There were many reasons for this that Clow chose not to impart to anyone, most revolving around this ‘family’ of world travelers. Their world was doubly protected by the Dimensional Witch’s presence, her location well-hidden from the man who watched and manipulated the journey. It was, perhaps, the safest world in which the travelers could have landed, in terms of avoiding Fei Wang Reed’s interference.)_

“What is going on here?” Li demands again. 

“Um,” Syaoran says, still rather unnerved by meeting himself. “I’m Syaoran… This is Fai-san and Kurogane-san, and this is Sakura-hime. We are travelers from other worlds, searching for Sakura-hime’s memories. They were turned into feathers and flew to different dimensions.” 

Li examines his look-alike, and then looks at Sakura curiously. Slowly his katana drops and returns to its form as an orb. “So you’re another version of myself?” 

Sakura gives him a look, and Fai watches their interaction curiously, knowing that Kurogane has not missed it either. This pair is so much more comfortable with each other and themselves. There is no awkwardness or blushing. In fact, they seem to know each other so well that there is no need for words. He wonders wistfully if their own Sakura and Syaoran will be like that someday. 

Li Syaoran understands the message Sakura conveys with her eyes. He is no fool. If this is not his other self, then it must be a relative, or a replica of a relative. Half of a heart is sealed in this boy, using the magic of his family. _My son?_ he asks in the slight arch of an eyebrow, the inquisitive glint in brown eyes. 

_Ours_ , says the upward twitch of a lip, the warmth and devotion in her gaze. But there was more she was not saying in the slight furrow of her brow, the sadness like an echo in her eyes. 

He knows that now is not the time to ask. Sakura does not want these people to know. 

“It’s getting late. Why don’t you stay with us for now?” Sakura offers.

“Oi. Manjuu,” the ninja says suddenly, before anyone can respond to Sakura’s suggestion. “Is there a feather here?” 

Mokona hums and concentrates hard. “Mokona cannot tell,” it says at last, ears drooping. “There is a lot of strange power here.” 

“I haven’t seen or felt anything that might be a feather, but Eriol-kun can probably tell us if one is here or not.” 

It is nearly impossible to miss the glower on Li’s face at that remark. The expression on a familiar face is unfamiliar and surreal to the world travelers. 

“I bet that b – Hiiragizawa knew this would happen,” he growls. 

“Waa, other-Syaoran-san sounds just like Kuro-rin,” Fai says laughingly. 

“Enough with the stupid names!” Kurogane bellows, his hand twitching for his sword. 

“Kuro-daddy is sooo scary,” Mokona decides to join in one the fun. 

Before the argument can degenerate from there, Li’s cell phone rings. A tick beneath his left eye that has developed as a direct result of Hiiragizawa Eriol serves as a warning. “It’s the devil,” he says morosely. “Of course.” 

“Syaoran,” Sakura says sternly. 

Li flips open his phone and faces away from the group. “ _What._ ”

Curiosity keeps the others silent, wondering just who can elicit such a response from the boy. Syaoran flushes, embarrassed and a little wistful as he sees how different his counterpart is. 

“Greetings, my cute little descendent.” 

“I am not your cute little _anything_ , Hiiragizawa, and like hell I descended from _you_ ,” Li snarls. He is on edge from everything that has happened, and does not have the patience required to deal more or less calmly with this half of the reincarnation.

“Hoeee,” Sakura sighs. “Those two.” 

“Ano…if you don’t mind my asking, who is he talking to?” the young archaeologist asks hesitantly. 

“That’s our friend, Hiiragizawa Eriol-kun,” Sakura explains. 

“Don’t even tell me you didn’t see them coming. A little warning might have been nice!” Li shouts at that moment. 

“Strange friendship,” Kurogane mutters. 

Fai giggles, but chooses not to explain why.

“Can he see the future?” Mokona asks curiously. 

“Not anymore,” Sakura explains, keeping a careful eye on her Syaoran. He always gets so upset whenever he interacts with the English sorcerer. Possibly because Eriol-kun deliberately baits him. “But he remembers.” 

The silence is drawn out as Li listens to what the other says. 

“And why are you always safe on the other side of the world whenever you call to give us news?” Li demands, glaring at nothing. 

Sakura sighs. Luckily, the conversation finishes a short time later. 

“There is a feather hidden in this world,” Li says as he snaps his cell phone shut. “It landed here before Sakura was born, and Hiiragizawa was waiting. He sealed away its power so no one could sense it, and hid it within the Tsukimine Shrine. We can show you where tomorrow.” 

“Why not right now?” Kurogane asks gruffly. 

“You must be tired from all of your traveling, and this world is safe for you,” Sakura says gently. 

“The shrine is closed for the day, anyway,” her boyfriend adds. “And I would prefer not to be arrested should our doubles be caught breaking in.” 

Sakura elbows him sharply, and he winces. 

“You are all welcome to spend the night at my house. We might need to split you up though,” Sakura muses. She doesn’t notice how the group stiffens at the thought. “We don’t have a lot of extra space with ‘Tousan, ‘Niisan, and Yukito-san around.” 

“My apartment isn’t big enough either,” Syaoran says. “But I don’t think they would feel comfortable if we split them up.” He sighs. “Daidouji-san has enough room to house them without problem. And she would be very upset should we neglect to involve her in this.” 

Both Syaoran and Sakura cringe at the thought of upsetting Daidouji Tomoyo. Sakura because Tomoyo is her best friend and she is too kind to want to upset her. Syaoran because he knows Tomoyo will ever so sweetly and effortlessly make his life a living hell.

“Her mother is away for the rest of the week, as well,” Sakura says. 

“You don’t need to…” the Syaoran of Clow country begins to protest, but Fai innocently speaks over top of him. 

“Thank you for your hospitality,” he says cheerfully. He is not above a little manipulation or immoral conduct to get the group what they need, and this requires no manipulation at all. 

The walk is comfortable, and Sakura and Syaoran listen with great interest as Fai, Mokona, and occasionally the other Syaoran describe their journey thus far. Kurogane relaxes as much as he is ever able to, though he does not cease to pay attention to their surroundings, always ready for an attack. 

Eventually they arrive at Tomoyo’s mansion and the travelers cannot help but be impressed. Before Sakura can ring the bell, the gate bursts open and a small orange creature flies directly at Sakura. 

“Hey, Sakura!” it shouts cheerfully. “Guess who got the new high score on – ” He stops mid-sentence upon noticing that Sakura has company and freezes. “Uh.” 

“Nice going, stuffed animal,” Li sighs. 

“Beat it, brat,” Kero snaps right back. 

“Not another one,” Kurogane grumbles, shooting daggers at their own animated plush toy. 

“What’s going on?” asks a gentle, cultured voice, and Tomoyo steps into view. 

“T-Tomoyo-hime!” The ninja actually stutters in his shock. 

“I beg your pardon?” There is confusion in her violet eyes, and she looks at Kurogane as though he were a stranger. And he is a stranger, to this version of his princess, but it doesn’t hurt any less. 

There are introductions and explanations as the group is shown around the large house and the maids are instructed that the group will remain for dinner. There is plenty to eat and enough variety that everyone is happy. Kurogane has his traditional Nihon food and there are plenty of sweets for both Fai and Kero-chan. 

Kero takes it upon himself to warn the dimension travelers that magic is kept hidden in this world, not-so-subtly looking at the mage and Mokona as he says this. Fai reassures them, tells them that he no longer uses his magic, and his smile is unnaturally bright. 

Sakura, Syaoran, and Tomoyo explain more about how this world works, and a little bit about their own magic, since Syaoran’s archaeologist counterpart seems interested. Clow is not mentioned because it is complicated, and Sakura knows that he is somehow entwined within this journey. She wants to know more from Eriol before saying anything they might later regret. 

_(Tomoyo ‘happens’ to have clothing ready, not only for the other Sakura and Syaoran, but also for their adult companions. Syaoran smells a rat. Times like this, he imagines what Daidouji and Hiiragizawa would be like as a couple and not just casual acquaintances that like to conspire together, and he thanks all the gods that they are not. Yet.)_

Late that night when the guests are in bed, Sakura cannot keep the tears back any longer. Kero, in his true form, lies on the ground as she wraps her arms around his neck and sobs desolately into his fur. Syaoran is at her side, holding and supporting her as he waits for her to tell him what she dreamt. Tomoyo sits on Kero’s other side and hums a soothing lullaby, gently stroking Sakura’s hair. 

Kurogane, unknown to them, watches from the other side of a nearly closed door. He had heard the soft noises from his room and come to investigate. He had seen earlier, the way the Sakura of this world had gone into a brief trance, the way she knew more than she should. It is not unlike his Tomoyo-hime, the dream-seer. 

He is a ninja, a ruthless killer, but the scene causes his chest to tighten with foreign emotion, and he leaves them to their privacy. He meets the mage in the hallway outside their rooms. 

“The future is not very happy, is it Kuro-tan?” Fai says softly. 

Kurogane grunts and retreats to his room. 

Sakura-hime still has not woken the next day, so Syaoran and Tomoyo remain to watch over her while Sakura leads the others to the shrine. Luckily no one who knows this world’s Syaoran approaches them, and they retrieve the feather from its hiding spot. 

It is anticlimactic, and the group is relieved. They have been through fight after fight and trap after trap, and just once it is nice not to need to lay their lives on the line for a feather. 

Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Kero-chan see the group off as they continue their journey to other worlds. Sakura steps forward as they begin to disappear. 

“Everything will definitely be all right,” she says. “Please don’t forget.” 

And then they are gone.


	2. A Reprieve

_And it starts, sometime around midnight._  
_Or at least that’s when you lose yourself_  
_for a minute or two._  
_As you stand, under the bar lights._  
_And the band plays some song_  
_about forgetting yourself for a while._  
_And the piano’s this melancholy soundtrack to her smile._  
_And that white dress she’s wearing_  
_you haven’t seen her for a while._  
_-Airborne Toxic Event, “Sometime Around Midnight”_

Syaoran – the original – wonders how it has come to this. How can things have gone to hell so quickly? Fai has lost his eye and given up the last of his magic, living only because he was turned into a vampire. Kurogane has lost an arm. The clone Sakura-hime’s soul is dead, the original Sakura-hime is trapped by Fei Wang Reed, and his own clone is doing only God knows what, but he can imagine because he still dreams of the ruined worlds they followed him through. 

_(And he remembers the Sakura that isn’t his, remembers her cold eyes and the way she turned away from him, and it hurts because he_ knew _he was the intruder, that it wasn’t him any of them wanted, knew that if he had only been a little faster, a little better, maybe he could have done something to prevent his clone from becoming what he has.)_

And now they are leaving the relative safety of Nihon to seek out Fei Wang Reed. It has all come down to this. This is what the quest was all about, not about the feathers, but about Fei Wang Reed’s manipulations and destructive desires. It is time to end the dream. 

They land someplace familiar, someplace that feels safe to Syaoran. “Tomoeda,” he whispers. It is only fair to land here, he supposes. They have already been to both Fai’s and Kurogane’s home worlds. 

His two companions hear him, of course, and notice how pale he has grown. 

“That man is here?” Kurogane demands. 

Syaoran shakes his head. “No, he can’t be,” he says. Fei Wang won’t be in the same world as Yuuko. 

“Then why did the manjuu bun drop us off here again?”

They look at Mokona who shrugs in confusion. “Mokona doesn’t know,” it says quietly. “Yuuko chose the destination.” 

Syaoran looks around at half-remembered scenery. Trapped and imprisoned by Fei Wang Reed, when he hadn’t been watching the journey of his clone, he had been remembering his childhood. He had only been seven when he left his home for Clow Country, so over and over again he reconstructed the faces and scenery of his home because he didn’t want to forget. He didn’t dare forget anything his parents had taught him. But it isn’t the dim memory of his childhood that leads him to the mansion. (He had visited it only a handful of times before turning seven, after all.) It is the path the group had followed when last they were in Tomoeda, and the others recognize where he is going. 

“Might as well find someone familiar, ne?” Fai says softly. 

They walk in silence otherwise, recognizing the tension in their youngest member. 

The group quickly reaches the mansion, and Syaoran goes through the motions automatically. He pushes the speaker button and says, “Hello?” 

There is silence for a long moment, and then a female voice responds, “Who is this?” 

“Li Syaoran, Fai-san, Kurogane-san, and Mokona-chan here to see Tomoyo-san,” he says in monotone. 

The silence is even longer at his response, and then the gates open. Syaoran’s heart is in his throat. After all this time, he will see them. His family. How long has passed? What will they say now that it is him, and not his clone, that has appeared? 

He stifles the urge to run ahead when he sees a woman waiting in the open doorway.

“So,” Tomoyo says softly as the group comes to a halt in front of her, taking in their changes. “It’s that time at last?” 

They are all taken aback by the changes in Daidouji Tomoyo. It is not that she is years older than she was last time they had landed in Tomoeda. It is that she looks older than she should be. It is the faint worry lines that linger, the old and tired sadness that resides in her amethyst eyes. Something has happened. She has suffered. 

_(Syaoran feels the first fission of foreboding, and he is frightened, because she should never ever look like that, he cannot imagine what can make her look like that. His mother and father would never let their closest friend suffer so.)_

“How do you know?” the ninja asks suspiciously. 

“I have no magic, if that is what you mean,” Tomoyo says. “But I have kept in regular contact with Hiiragizawa Eriol, and he tells me things.” 

She turns her gaze upon Syaoran before any of them have the chance to respond, and smiles. (It is a true smile, and they can all guess at how rare it has become.) “Welcome back, Nephew,” she says warmly. 

His companions jerk, their eyes widening in surprise, and Mokona bounces up bursting with curiosity. “I thought you were from Clow Country,” it says as Tomoyo invites them inside. 

Syaoran’s only answer is to shake his head. He is anxious at the conspicuous absence of people who should be here. 

“Eriol-san should have been here,” Tomoyo says as she leads the group to the living room. “I suspect his flight was delayed, or perhaps he was caught in traffic. In any case, once he arrives I will provide you with a car and accompany you.” 

“Where are we going?” Fai asked curiously. 

“To see the Witch, of course,” Tomoyo says, head tilted slightly to the side. 

“That woman lives here?” Kurogane demands. 

“Yes.” Tears glimmer in her eyes for a moment before she blinks them away. “Roughly an hour by car.” 

“Aunt Tomoyo,” Syaoran says. His voice is barely above a whisper, his fear constricting his throat. “Where are mother and father?” 

There is complete silence. Fai, Kurogane, and Mokona watch the scene with sympathy. 

“They are paying a price for a wish,” Tomoyo says at last. She opens her arms upon seeing his stricken look, and he willingly falls into the embrace. Syaoran can’t remember the last time he had been held close like this. 

“Yuuko-san…?” he mumbles. 

“No,” Tomoyo says, meeting the regretful gazes of her nephew’s traveling companions. “They fulfilled their wish themselves, but even then there is a price.” She sighed and looked at each of the men in turn. They deserved to hear this, she decided. 

“You remember when your clone and your companions landed here,” she says, a statement rather than a question. “Your mother accidentally dreamed bits and pieces of what had brought the group here, and what would happen in your future. She chose not to look further then, preferring to live happily while she could. But she would never let her child suffer so without doing something to prevent it, and so after she married your father she dreamed your life. She saw what would happen, and she and your father did what they could to make sure your ending was happy. We all did. But we can’t know whether it was all enough.” 

“What was the wish?” Syaoran asks while his companions digest the enormity of the news. How many people had made sacrifices to make sure they were successful? How many people were counting on them to triumph? 

“I’m not sure even Eriol-san knows. It has been years since anyone has seen your parents, and they warned us that they would be gone. But you know how your mother was, Nephew. It was so very difficult for everyone to adjust to her absence,” she says sadly. “Your grandfather, uncle, and I are living one day at a time.” 

“And Kero-chan?” he asks hesitantly. 

“He and his counterpart sleep,” Tomoyo says simply. “They do not have the power to do more, and this long wait for their Mistress is like an unhappy dream.” 

“I apologize,” she says to Fai, Kurogane, and Mokona after a moment of silence. “Please forgive me for neglecting you. Will you care for some refreshment?” 

“It is perfectly fine,” Fai says understandingly. “It has been a long time since you have seen Syaoran-kun, has it not? His capture must have been most distressing.” 

There is enough time for the group to rest and eat before Eriol arrives. He greets them all, introducing himself with his trademark smile, and reacquainting himself with his somewhat-nephew, somewhat-grandson. He regards Mokona most peculiarly as they ready themselves for the car ride to Yuuko’s shop. It is a mix of interest and pride, and he asks several technical questions about its function. Only Tomoyo and Syaoran know why he acts the way he does, and now is not the time for complicated explanations. 

The world-traveling group is mostly silent. They are tense, preparing mentally to face a man more powerful than they, a man who has manipulated their journey from the beginning and who is remorseless in his quest. 

Yuuko’s shop is just as they remember it, and they are not surprised to see her waiting. She and Hiiragizawa-san exchange a long look rife with hidden meanings that none of them quite understand. 

“Ready?” she asks, a long ribbon in her hand and pooling at her feet. 

Kurogane grunts. “Let’s go,” he says. 

Mokona floats into the air, wings appearing and spreading wide. 

“Remember your mother’s invincibility spell,” Tomoyo says suddenly as one end of the impossibly long ribbon disappears into the sky. Yuuko pulls, stifling a scream of pain as lightning skates down and engulfs her. 

Syaoran nods, eyes wide and worried as he witnesses Yuuko’s pain. He says, just before they are sucked into Mokona’s mouth, “Everything will definitely be all right.”


	3. An Ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so long that it's not quite as I had originally pictured it, and I'm not entirely sure the voice/writing style match the first two chapters. But I figured that it had been long enough, and as added incentive I decided that I wouldn't read the new Tsubasa World Chronicle until this was done. Hope you enjoy.

_So give me reason_  
 _To prove me wrong_  
 _To wash this memory clean_  
 _Let the floods cross_  
 _The distance in your eyes_  
 _Give me reason_  
_To fill this hole_  
_Connect this space between_  
_Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies_  
_Across this new divide_

_- **Linkin Park, “New Divide”**_

 

 

The world is ending.

 

All worlds are shattering and Fei Wang Reed watches, crazed eyes glittering with triumph. Fai and Kurogane attack, again and again as ‘Syaoran’ fights to reach Sakura. As Sakura’s light disappears.

 

They knew when they made the decision to face this man, that it would not be easy. They will not give up.

 

But it does not look as though they will succeed, either.

 

He screams Sakura’s name, hoping for…something ( _for her to move, to wake, to stop her light from disappearing; for the worlds to be whole and healed_ ).

 

And then Yuuko’s magic circle appears, and with it –

 

Themselves?

 

It is like looking into a mirror, is his first thought, ( _“That’s…not Sakura…”_ ) followed closely by the pang of grief as he remembers their clones. The truth dawns on him slowly, as he swallows back his tears. It has been years since he has seen them, and he has never stopped wishing to see them again. To fall into their arms as though he were once more that innocent child, and feel their love, the comfort and security of their very presence.

 

“Mother…” he murmurs, “and Father…?”

 

They look back at him gently, lovingly, and for a moment he allows himself to bask in their smiles and their very presence.

 

And then he flinches as he senses magic explode from Fei Wang Reed. His mother grasps Sakura’s unconscious body, while his father wraps an arm around him as ‘Syaoran’ concentrates on a shield. The entire group twists to face Fei Wang more directly, and the magic builds and builds until ‘Syaoran’s skin is almost buzzing with it.

 

( _He knew his parents were powerful, but he never realized just how powerful, and he thinks that it must be enough, that with his parents here and fighting they must win_ ).

 

Kurogane, Fai, and Mokona are shouting over the chaos, confused and nervous, and perhaps a little awestruck as Sakura and Syaoran each throw out an arm and channel what feels like an ocean of magic into repairing what Fei Wang destroyed. They huff and strain as the shattered worlds slowly, slowly begin to realign.

 

It is no surprise, then, that no one notices when they first begin to appear. To stand witness. To provide what support they could.

 

“Oh, Sakura-chan,” a teary voice murmurs, near enough that Kurogane and Fai hear and whip around. “Syaoran-kun.”

 

“Tomoyo-chan?” Fai exclaims after a moment of shock.

 

She stands behind them, eyes wide and fixed on the mirror images above them, hands pressed to her mouth. Her dark purple dress flutters a little in response to the clashing energies.

 

“How are you here?” Kurogane demands gruffly. She shouldn’t be. It is far too dangerous.

 

“I brought her,” a male voice says, and he appears mid-step at Tomoyo’s side. His attention appears fixed on the stand-off between the Fei Wang Reed and the two couples above, but his dark eyes flicker over Kurogane, Fai, and Mokona, assessing.

 

Eriol Hiiragizawa is dressed far more ceremoniously now, in his dark gold and navy robes, a golden staff topped by a sunburst resting in his hand. Fai eyes it with a frown, thinks that something about him or his magic is familiar, something that he had not sensed when they first met not long ago.

 

“She has no powers, as you know, but I showed her the way in her dreams.”

 

“But why?”

 

A large, dark cat and a tall, pink-haired woman, both with butterfly wings appear at his back. “To watch. To provide moral support, if you will,” the cat says haughtily.

 

“The dream must end. That’s what this is about, isn’t it?” another voice says impatiently. Touya, with Yukito at his side, stands slightly away from the group, the former looking up at his sister with a glare that does nothing to hide his fear for her. “And it’s about time. That _gaki_ had better protect her and my nephew, and get them through this. After all these years, I’m not letting any of them get away with disappearing again.”

 

“You’re here to help?” Mokona asks hopefully.

 

“Yes,” says Fujitaka softly, brow furrowed in worry. “However we can.”

 

‘Syaoran’ sees them at last, his family, and he gasps in surprise, heart racing at the sight of these long-missed people. His concentration falters, so that a shard slips through the shield and slices a thin line into his father’s arm.

 

“Father!”

 

“Don’t get distracted,” his father says sternly, serious eyes boring into his own. “You made the decision back then, didn’t you? ‘I will not allow Sakura to die. Never.’ Do not lose sight of your wish.”

 

“It is my fault that this has come about,” Eriol says, and there is an echo of guilt in his words.

 

“Our fault,” Fujitaka corrects sadly. “An honest mistake, but there are always consequences, and these are ours.”

 

“What do you mean?” Kurogane demands crossly. “How can this be your fault?”

 

“Well,” Eriol retracts. “Not ours, not exactly. But it is our responsibility to see it through. To end it.”

 

“You! Impossible!” a voice howls in rage. Fei Wang’s attention focuses like a laser on Eriol, who looks like a young Clow Reed and feels like his magic. “Clow!”

 

“Half his reincarnation,” Eriol says with a maddening smirk. “But I understand the confusion.”

 

“You will not stop me! I will not permit your interference! None of you!” And he is dearly tempted to annihilate the infuriating interloper, but he is not so far gone in his madness to abandon the better strategy. His magic explodes from him, tearing violently toward where Sakura and Syaoran are attempting to reverse the damage done.

 

“Syaoran!” Fai shouts in fear and warning.

 

Eriol’s expression darkens, and he slams his staff into the ground. Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun glow, turn to streaks of light, and dissolve into the staff, so that it shines as bright as a sun. He is too late to beat the attack, but he must trust that ‘Syaoran’ can hold the shield. Instead, in the aftermath when they will need the energy, he gives to his descendants his magic. The smoke clears and the two boys glow with it, still intact.

 

“Sakura!” an accented voice shouts, and a small stuffed animal only just emerges from a cocoon of feathers to become a winged lion.

 

“Mistress,” a soft voice breathes, and Kurogane, Fai, and Mokona watch with wide eyes as Yukito transforms into a long-haired man with wings and colder, harder eyes.

 

“Can the high priest do that too?” Fai wonders out loud, fascinated.

 

“What are you waiting for Yue?!” Kero exclaims, racing through the air for Sakura and who could be her double. “You’re gettin’ slow!”

 

“Some decorum, Keroberos,” Yue says, streaking through the air and beginning to overtake his counterpart and brother, but his eyes are fixed on Sakura and a certain desperation is evident in the set of his body.

 

Despite her look of concentration, the strain of wielding such powerful magic for as long as she has, Sakura smiles, looking upon them with such happiness and love.

 

They glow and race faster the closer they come to their long-lost mistress, until they are simply two streaks of blinding light that strike her chest with bright flash, and she glows as they augment her power with their own.

 

Fei Wang is not done with his attack, gathering even more power to strike again, and Fai’s attempt to block his magic is more or less batted aside. Kurogane growls, as the aftermath of the magic collisions nearly whip everyone off their feet, and he plants himself more firmly in place, grabbing hold of the mage and the white manju bun. The…visitors, he supposes, seem unaffected. So all of them are dreaming, then. He had suspected.

 

The dust clears, and Fei Wang’s eyes widen in shock and rage when it becomes evident that both Sakuras and Syaorans are unaffected. “Clow’s magic circles,” he breathes tightly, seeing the shapes of the circles that hover beneath them. “Clow’s magic itself.”

 

“We gave it to them,” Eriol says serenely, and Fujitaka bows his head slightly in acknowledgement. Eyes narrow at the implication, and the three travelers near them remember his mention of being a half-reincarnation.

 

Fei Wang attacks again, desperate and with no reason to hold back. It is stronger, again, than previously, and it is enough. Sakura and Syaoran cringe and the rotation stops.

 

“Resurrection is not possible,” Eriol continues. He tilts his head and says sadly, wistfully, “Yuuko is gone. She cannot come back.”

 

“No,” Fei Wang Reed says. “No! That was the only proof…that I exceeded Clow. I won’t let my plans, all these years and manipulations…it will not be in vain!” He takes from his robes the glass prison, and all who watch suck in a breath in surprise and worry. “Absolutely! I will absolutely revive her! I will turn back time once again with your freedom as the price!”

 

Sakura and Syaoran remember the agony of waiting, of watching and never ever being able to touch or hear the other, pressing futilely against a sheet of glass and hoping that they can change the future and end the dream.

 

That they can save the children.

 

They shout out, all of them, when Fei Wang begins to draw the two couples into the device. Kurogane leaps forward with his sword, Fai draws out his magic, but it is not enough.

 

Sakura and Syaoran do the only thing they can. Syaoran knocks his son away, and Sakura launches the other ‘Sakura’ out of range.

 

They are horrified to feel another hand grasping their wrist at the very last moment.

 

“No!” the other ‘Sakura’ says, awake at last. Kurogane and Fai strain to reach them, but there is nothing to be done as they are trapped once again, ‘Sakura’ and ‘Syaoran’ with them this time.

 

But they refuse to be trapped; they choose to move forward, no matter what ( _break the cycle, break the dream_ ), and the chaos of before is nothing compared to what happens when the four of them gather their power to shatter the prison. It is a chaos that Fai and Kurogane take advantage of, and at last, as his blade slices through flesh and bone, Kurogane has his revenge.

 

( _Eriol and Fujitaka watch in sorrow and pity and regret as Fei Wang Reed dissolves, and for two such dissimilar-looking men, their expressions are eerily alike_ )

 

But neither Syaoran emerges, though both Sakuras appear, dazed by their power. Yue and Kero’s essences pulse comfortingly in Sakura’s heart.

 

“Sakura!” Eriol shouts urgently. “Quickly, you need to pull them out!”

 

The woman with the appearance of a young girl snaps to attention, narrowing her eyes. She is exhausted, drained, but she will never let her husband or her son disappear.

 

“Come on, _kaijuu_ ,” Touya drawls, unable to completely hide his worry, and sends her the trickle of power that remains in him. “Time to go save that _gaki_ again.”

 

She scowls slightly, automatically protesting, “Not a _kaijuu_.” If their eyes are wet with tears of joy and relief at the once familiar exchange, neither will admit it.

 

She gives everything she has, everything she has been given, into drawing the two missing boys, and feels their magic reaching out, struggling to return. Something has happened, wherever they are, something is happening, and for a moment she feels the faintest brush of a familiar/unfamiliar power, and her breath hitches when she realizes that it is her other son. She is glad, so glad, that Syaoran can see him, even briefly, and envious that she cannot yet.

 

‘Sakura’ and Fai lend her what little strength they have left, and there is a surge of power, a tearing, ripping feeling from the resistance, and she collapses in standing water, barely conscious.

 

“Sakura!”

 

“Mother!”

 

Two similar voices shout, and she half-sobs in relief, struggling to remain conscious. Someone kisses her brow, and the blackness at the edges of her vision recedes. They are in an underground cavern, a cistern perhaps. The world around them is solid and real, and the dream-images of her family are gone. Sakura can barely feel Kero and Yue, but they are still here, and safe.

 

Syaoran helps her to her feet, and then they are hugging, teary-eyed with relief and grief at all that has passed to bring them to this point, triumphant and exhausted.

 

“Thank you,” Sakura says, to Fai and Kurogona, to Mokona, to ‘Sakura’. “Thank you for looking after our son. For loving him.”

 

“Yes,” Syaoran echoes, smiling a little at the blushing ‘Syaoran’. “Thank you.”

 

Later, when they are more fully recovered, Sakura and Syaoran gather the traveling companions together.

 

“We cannot stay,” Sakura says. “And I know,” she addresses her son sadly, “that you cannot stay. But we will see each other again. And until then…”

 

She holds out her clasped hands, and in them is a feather. ‘Sakura’ gasps, pressing a hand to her mouth in surprise. “Is that…?”

 

They turn their attention to Syaoran, who stands across from ‘Syaoran’ and holds a similar feather delicately in his hand. “Your other selves,” he says.

 

The children reach out, almost as if in a trance, and the feathers immediately absorb into their chests. Fai and Kurogane quickly leap forward to catch them as they begin to collapse, tears slipping from beneath closed eyelids.

 

“I am sure you will find something in your travels to help them,” Sakura murmurs to her son who struggles to remain aware as she strokes ‘Sakura’s’ hair. “After all…

 

“Everything will definitely be all right.”


End file.
